Stirrup



UNHED STATES PATENT Germa STEPHEN THRWEAT BUTLER, OF SOCORRO, TERRITORY OF NEXV MEXICO.

STIRRUP.

EPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patert No. 380276, dated March 2.7, 1888.

Application filed August 10,138?. Serial No. 246.500. (Ne model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern- Be it known that I, STEPHEN THRWEAT BUT- LER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Socorro, in the county of Socorro and Territory of New Mexico, have invented certain new and useful Inprovements in Stirrups; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the inven tion, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the sane,reference being had to the aceonpanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figurc l is a rear view of my new and improved stirrup. Fig. 2 is a detail View of the hinged spring-actuated gate of the same and of the bar on which the gate is hinged. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical central sectional View of my improved stirrup, showing the foot of the rider in position in the same; and Fig. 4 is a detail View of a modification of myin- Vention.

The same let-ters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

My invention relates to stirrups; and it consists in a new and improved hinged springactuated attachment or gate which is adapted to be Secured in operative position to any stirrup, which prevents the toe from being pushed too far through the stirrup, the lower end of the said gate being provided with a leather flap or cushion which prevents the upper part of the foot from being hurt by the metal of the gate, and which, in .case of the rider being thrown, will be swung back or raised by the toe, so as to free the feet from the stirrups, and thus prevent the rider from being dragged by the feet after being thrown froni the saddle, as has heretofore occurred in many cases.

My invention will be hereinafter fully descrihed and claimed.

Referring to the several parts by letter, A A indicate a stirrup of ordinary Construction, having at its upper end the transverse bar B, around which the stirrup-leather works. Just below this top bar, B, of the stirrup is Secured asecond transverse bar, C, on which the springactuated gate is hinged and works, the redueed ends of this lower bar, C, fitting in suitable apertures in the sides of the stirrup at those points, and the bar C being adapted to be fitted to any stirrup by merely forning the apertures D D in the sides of the stirrup and fitting the reducedends of the bar in the same. The enlarged middle portion of the bar O is round in cross-section and is forned on its rear longitudinal side with the central straight or flat-portion or space, C', for the purpose hereinafter specified.

E indicates the hiuged or swinging gate, which may be fol-med of a single piec of metal, being struck out of the sane and shaped by a suitable die the upper end of this gate being forned with the rearwardly turned books F F, which fit over and around the rounded portion of the bar C, While the lower side ends, G G, of the gate are extended out and curved at their free ends to form the books H H, which bear against or fit over the rear edges of the lower sides of the stirrup, as shown. lower end in the central portion of the gate, and its upper free end extends np and bears against the rear flat side, C', of the bar G. The lower or bottom edge of the gate E is curvcd or rounded up to eonforn to the curvature of the top of the foot, and a fiap, J, of leather or other suitable yielding material, is riveted to the lower edge or portion of the gate in the position shown and serves, when the foot of the rider is thrust into the stirrup, to prevent it froni being bruised or hurt by the lower edge of the metal gate, as will be readily seen.

The pressure of the spring l, Secured at its lower end in the gate and hearing with its upper free end against the flat rear side of the bar O, on which the gatc is hung, tends to keep the gate normally pressed forward, so that it normally stands in a nearly-vertical po sition, while the hooks H H at the lower ends of the gate, hearing against the rear edges of the sides of the stirrup, prevent the lower end of the gate fron being pushed through the stirrup forward by the pressure of the spring I, and also by the forward pressure of the toe of the rider. It will thus be seen that when the rider places his feet in the stirrups the gate will prevent him from slpping his feet too far through the stirrup, as frequently happens, the upper part of the foot hearing against the lower curved edge of the gat-e, while the leather fiap or cushionJ prevents A fiat spring, I, is Secured at its- IOG the met-al of the gate from hurting or rubbing his feet. Now, in case of the rider being thrown from his horse, the backward pull of his toe will instantly raise (swing up) the gate of each stirrup, thus freeing his feet instantly from the stirrups and preventing his being dragged to death, which often occurs, owing to the rider s feet being thrust too far through the stirrups, and thus preventing him from freeing theni when th rown from the saddle.

If preferred, I may employ the form of spring shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings without departing in the least from the 'spirit of my invention. In this form the spring is formed of wire and coiled in opposite directions from the center, as shown, the central coiled portion of the spring being mounted upon (encircling) the bar C, while apin or hook is inserted in the middle of the bar C,and the middle loop, L, of the coiled spring is hooked over it to preventthis portion of the spring from moving on the bar, and the free straight ends M M of the spring then pass down and through apertures N N, which are formed in the gate near its side edges, as shown. With' the exception of these side apertures,the gate is forned as before de-= scribed, the only differences in Construction in the whole being the different form of spring, the pin or hook K, and the small side apertures, N N. I prefer, however, to use the Construction before described, and shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3 of the drawings.

From the foregoing description,taken in connection with the acconpanying drawings, the

Construction, operation, and decided advantages of my invention will be readily understood.

It will be seen that my invention is simple and strong in Construction and can be manufactured at a small cost, and that it is exceedingly efficient and satisfactory in its operation. It forms a perfect safety attachment to any transverse bar arranged in the upper end of the same, a gate hinged at its upper end on the said bar and formed with the side hooks or projections at its lower end, the leather fiap or cushion secured to the lower edge of the said gate, anda spring normally pressing the lower end of the gate forward.

2. The combination, with the bar adapted `to be secured in the upper part of a. stil-rup,

having the reduced ends, the rounded middle portion, and the fiat rear side, of the gate formed with the hooks at its upper end and the side hooks or projections at its lower end, and the spring secured at its lower end in the said gate and hearing with its upper free end against the fiat rear side of the said bar, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the bar adapted to be secured in the upper part of a stirrup, having the reduced ends, the rounded middle portion, and the fiat rear side, of the gate formed with the hooks at its upper end and the side hooks or projections at its lower end, the leather fiap riveted to the lower edge of the said gate, and the spring secured at its lower end in the said gate and hearing with its 

